I am an Aboriginal leader. This is why you shouldn't celebrate Australia Day – and I want the flag changed now
An Aboriginal business leader has branded the January 26 celebration of Australia Day and the national flag as a “violation of human rights”.
Jay Walton, 47, spent most of his life not knowing he was Aboriginal until he discovered his Indigenous bloodline through an elder in his 30s.
Since then, Mr Walton says he has raised awareness of why January 26 is such a disrespectful date to celebrate being Australian.
He told Daily Mail Australia that people “blindly celebrated” Australia Day every year, unaware of the pain it caused their Aboriginal counterparts.
“It's the scab of the wound for every Indigenous Australian,” he said.
'The idea that we could agree to this is ridiculous as the date represents a day when Australia was illegally invaded and land stolen.
'A simple gesture of respect and compassion for Indigenous Australians is to change the date.'
Jay Walton, 47, has called for Australia Day and the national flag to be changed. He is pictured modeling his brand's new '3 Flags 1 Country' t-shirts and tote bags
Mr Walton is depicted as a child in regional NSW. He would not discover his native bloodline until he was thirty.
Mr Walton said he would love to see a day when all Australians can come together and celebrate Australia for the country that it is.
However, he believes this is impossible until the date is changed.
The businessman said Australia's national flag represented a “violation of human rights” – with the Union Jack a “kick in the face” to every Indigenous Australian.
He has called for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to be included in the current flag.
“The Union Jack is a daily reminder to everyone who is Indigenous that their gang has been murdered and their land invaded,” he said.
“The simple act of displaying all three flags together as a show of support for solidarity on this issue is a healthier way to handle the Australia Day celebration until the date is changed.
“To achieve meaningful reconciliation we must recognize the three countries.”
Mr Walton has been “extremely connected” to his Indigenous culture since discovering he was a fourth-generation Aboriginal man.
Mr Walton has released a line of T-shirts and tote bags featuring the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags with the slogan '3 flags, 1 country' (pictured)
His great-grandparents are famed bone setter Thomas Mayers and Aboriginal healer Mary Ann Perry of the Worimi Nation, who formed the Mayers Clan in the eastern Port Stephens and Great Lakes regions of NSW.
He is also related to Aboriginal former Balmain Tigers player John Mayers.
Mr Walton, who grew up in regional NSW, said his family likely did not want to identify as Aboriginal because of institutionalized racism.
'I had to use Google to find out about my own family's bloodline. An indigenous gang in my town knew that I and my family were related to them,” he said.
“I passed the missions every day on the way to school in Taree and Forster and thought how unfair it was that the white boys were on one side and the black boys were on the other.”
Mr Walton has launched a line of t-shirts and tote bags for his sustainable brand featuring the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags with the slogan '3 flags, 1 country' Popular clothes again.
He has partnered with One Tree Planted to ensure that a tree is planted for every garment sold in Australia, with the aim of planting a minimum of 45,000 trees.